2026 Post Production Grant Awardees
The Portland Events and Film Office at Prosper Portland, in partnership with Travel Portland, is excited to celebrate this year's Post-Production Grant recipients. Four feature films have been selected to receive funding aimed at supporting the completion of locally made projects and empowering Portland filmmakers to grow toward larger, more resourced productions.
From a competitive pool of more than 30 applicants, four projects were selected to each receive $7,500 in post-production funding:
Dragathon: Meeting Hate with Joy, Sansei Sensibility, Albina Music Trust: Echoes of Albina, and Are We Cool.
Grant funds are directed toward Portland-based post-production services, keeping dollars local and supporting the creative community here at home. Eligible services include sound, picture editing, color grading, closed captioning, distributor tech specs, VFX/animation, and music clearances, all completed through local post-production houses and talent.
“In a post-production landscape where work has slowed considerably, this investment puts meaningful dollars into the hands of local talent at a time when it's needed most,” said Eden Dawn, Executive Producer of Dragathon: Meeting Hate with Joy.
Projects were selected based on their commitment to diverse representation both on screen and in production, the film's potential impact on local talent and the broader economy, the significance of the funding to the project and the applicant's career, and the film's ability to bring Portland's vitality and creative spirit to wider audiences.
“The depth of talent represented in this year's applicant pool is a reminder of why this grant matters and why Portland's film community continues to inspire,” said Elyse Taylor Liburd, Film Industry Project Manager. “Thank you to everyone who applied, and congratulations to this year’s recipients.”
Dragathon: Meeting Hate with Joy
In 2023, there was an ambitious attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the longest drag show in history. Dragathon: Meeting Hate with Joy, follows this event from conception to its 48-consecutive-hour run at the historic Darcelle's cabaret in Portland's Old Town.
At a time when drag had become increasingly politicized,friends Emma McIlroy and Eden Dawn decided to fight back with joy by organizing the show while also attempting to raise $300,000 for The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ charity known for its suicide prevention work with queer youth.
Though this is Executive Producer Eden Dawn's first feature-length film, she holds a Guinness World Record for her producing skills. As a longtime local journalist, Dawn has produced over 100 photo shoots and dozens of notable large-scale events, including the largest fashion show in the state, as well as fundraising events, live talk shows, and four bestselling books. Dragathon: Meeting Hate with Joy was also a recipient of the Portland Events and Film, Amplify Portland Grant.
"Every 45 seconds in this country a young LGBTQ+ person attempts suicide. Our goal with breaking the world record was for those kids to see a community that will stand up for them. And now the documentary will spread that message widely, to queer kids everywhere, that Portland is a place that will show up for them and love them, just as they are, because they are perfect," said Dawn.
Sansei Sensibility
Sansei Sensibility is a feature documentary that uncovers the lasting impact of Japanese American incarceration through the intimate stories of three Sansei (third-generation Japanese Americans) in Ontario, Oregon—one of the few communities that welcomed Japanese Americans during World War II. Through deeply personal narratives, the film explores themes of silence, resilience, and cultural identity while connecting a little-known chapter of American history to the challenges of the present day. Both deeply personal and urgently relevant, the film illuminates how the pursuit of belonging, justice, and dignity remains an unfinished American story.
"I am committed to centering narratives that reflect underrepresented perspectives, with a particular focus on communities whose stories are often overlooked or simplified in mainstream media. Sansei Sensibility continues that commitment by approaching its subject with cultural specificity, nuance, and care," says Director & Producer Devin Fei-Fan Tau.
Fei-Fan Tau is a gay Asian American filmmaker whose work explores identity, belonging, and the consequences of silence through both narrative and documentary storytelling. His films have screened theatrically across the United States, at film festivals, on PBS, Starz, airlines, and digital platforms worldwide.
This is Devin's 5th feature film and his second Portland Post-Production Grant (the first being for "Who's on Top?")
Albina Music Trust: Echoes of Albina
Albina Music Trust: Echoes of Albina is a feature-length documentary that brings to light the untold story of the Albina district, once the heart of Black cultural life in Oregon. In the mid-20th century, Albina was a vibrant hub of Black-owned businesses, churches, community centers, and music venues. Though often overlooked by the broader music industry, Albina's musicians defined Black culture in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, developing an ecosystem of music education, mutual aid, and intergenerational connection. This creative boom unfolded during a period of redlining, displacement, and the erasure of Black neighborhoods under the guise of urban renewal. As highways and redevelopment projects fractured Albina, music remained a constant through both the joy and the trauma of its time.
The film tells a sweeping, intergenerational narrative through jazz, soul, gospel, hip hop, and emerging form, using rhythm, voice, and live performance as its narrative language. Today, the Albina Music Trust connects historic musicians with emerging artists in Black Portland, honoring those who built the community while affirming music as a force for memory and justice. Through its community archive programs, Albina Music Trust is restoring a unique piece of American music history.
"As my first feature, this project represents a critical step in my career. These funds will allow me to develop a disciplined, research-driven approach to storytelling, strengthening my ability to listen, identify narrative patterns, and build stories around powerful, character-driven perspectives," says Director Jason Hill.
Are We Cool
Set in the fall of 1994 in Portland, Oregon, at an experimental high school where students make the rules and weird is the norm, the kids must stand up and fight back when the school's radical egalitarian ideals are threatened. They also have to protest discriminatory ballot measures, agree on their band names, and figure out how to score beer. Are We Cool is a romantic, heartfelt, slacker political high school hangout movie that completed principal photography last November, right here in Portland, Oregon.
Kyle Eaton, producer of Are We Cool, has worked on several films: Sometimes I Think About Dying, Pig, and award-winning Shut Up Anthony.
"[My hope] is that this entire cast and crew collectively made a film that will have a lasting impact, attracting others to look to Oregon . . . and all of the available opportunities here, from the various grant funding support, the competitive state rebates, and the exceptional cast and crew, all of which incentivize outside productions to come to town, but also supports local independent productions by allowing them to succeed with a home-court advantage of endless resources from a city unlike any other," says Eaton.
2025 Post Production Grant Awardees
Congratulations Post-Production Grant Awardees
The Portland Events and Film Office, in partnership with Travel Portland, is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Post Production Grant to four feature films. The funding is designed to encourage the completion of a local feature-length film and position local producers to build toward larger, more resourced productions. Past recipients of the Post-Production Grant include Trash Baby, directed by Jacy Mairs (which premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival), and G. Chesler’s documentary Connection Isolation (which will be hosting several upcoming screenings with interactive programming nationwide).
Four films, selected from a pool of over 27 applicants were awarded $8,500 each. Grant funds must be applied towards Portland based post-production services such as: sound, picture editing, color matching, color grading, closed caption, tech specs for distributors, VFX/animation, and music clearances using local post-production houses.
“This year’s post production applicants were really strong in documentary story telling. This is no surprise to me given the journalistic, activism that is part of a Portlander filmmaker’s DNA. These stories were rich in truth and thoughtfulness, and will make the audiences feel deeply, which is exactly what they did for me.” Film Industry Project Manager Elyse Taylor Liburd. “This grant every year is another opportunity for the post production workforce to stay in our city and create work right here at home.”
The projects were selected based on their commitment to diverse representation in their film and/or in production, the potential impact of the film on local talent and economy; influence of funding on the project and/or career of the applicant, and the potential impact of the film on external markets by way of bringing Portland’s vitality to the big screen.
Congratulations to all of the recipients of the 2025 Post Production Grant:
Beatlore
Beatlore is a documentary film about Derek Rieth, late percussionist with Pink Martini who died by suicide in 2014. The project focuses on Derek's life, legacy and the ongoing Oregon mental health crisis. After Derek's death, project files were discovered on Derek's computer. Phil Baker, bassist with Pink Martini has remastered 11 songs from Derek's computer. These will also be included on the soundtrack for the documentary. When the director met with John Brodie, Pink Martini's first manager, John informed her there were 2 hours of footage shot in 2007 at Derek's home by a filmmaker who now lives in Seattle. She was able to acquire the footage and get a signed release from the filmmaker to use the footage in the documentary. She is also using audio files from Derek's computer and now has amazing footage of Derek telling his own story intercut with interviews and other archival/Pink Martini photos and video footage.
Joanie Fox is a director, producer and writer of documentaries, narrative, music video and live music performances. Beatlore is her first feature documentary.
The Bride Price
The Bride Price unfolds in a West African village, weaving a captivating dramedy that navigates the intricate web of traditions, aspirations, and relationships. The story centers around Paul, a young teacher determined to marry Awa, despite her father, Papa Alahji, setting a challenging bride price. Amidst familial expectations, societal norms, and the allure of unconventional suitors, the The Bride Price offers a vibrant and heartfelt glimpse into the complexities of love and life in a close-knit community.
As a Filmmaker, George Faux, loves transforming his ideas into reality through film. This is his first written feature length production.
Dear Doris
Dear Doris tells the outlandish behind-the-scenes tale of queer cult classic Vegas in Space (VIS) while framing the timely tour de force that was Doris Fish’s life. An unsung innovator, drag icon, and sex worker – his story has too often been lost in more monolithic representations of the gay arts scene and AIDS-era San Francisco. Decades after his death, his colorful friends, campy VIS collaborators, and troves of rare archival films finally come together with stunning animation for Doris to reclaim centerstage where she ruled up until her death in 1991.
Dear Doris is Scott Braucht’s first feature length documentary film. Scott has written and directed over ten short films and music videos that have been seen worldwide.
Pour the Water as I Leave
Once upon a time, in a land far away … A surreal exploration
of the war in Bosnia told through the unbreakable spirit of seven of her people whose strength to leave was as powerful as the fight to stay. Blending live action with haunting collage animation and choreographed dance, the film follows two lovers whose connection forms as war descends upon their world. Guided by the presence of real-life survivors, their journey unfolds through a dreamlike haze of shifting realities, where memory and trauma intertwine - but so do resilience and hope. Choreographed dance and fragmented imagery propel the lovers—and the audience—through the civilian experience of war. Through the lens of diaspora, the film captures not just the weight of displacement, but the defiant act of survival and the unwavering pursuit of home, no matter where the journey leads.
The film is helmed by Daniela Repas (Director, Writer, Animator and Editor), a Bosnian born award winning visual artist and filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon and Jessica Daugherty (Producer and Assistant Director) an award-winning producer and director of documentary and experimental film, podcasts, multi-media live performance, and co-founder of the production studio, Shrine13, in Portland, OR.
Congratulations Post Production Grant Recipients 2024
The Portland Events and Film Office, in partnership with Travel Portland, is proud to announce the recipients of the 2024 Post Production Grant to five feature films. The funding is designed to encourage the completion of a local feature-length film and position local producers to build toward larger, more resourced productions. Past recipients of the Post-Production Grant have included “Nora” by Anna Campbell and Dawn Redstone Jones’ “Mother of Color,” the latter picked up by Amazon Prime Studios for worldwide streaming distribution.
Five films, selected from a pool of over 23 applicants will be awarded $8,000 each. Grant funds must be applied towards Portland based post-production services such as: sound, picture editing, color matching, color grading, closed caption, tech specs for distributors, VFX/animation, and music clearances using local post-production houses.
“Keeping post production in Portland is so important; so many times when people make movies here, they end up doing post in other places. It is really important to continue to build on the post production infrastructure that we have here in the city,” said Film Industry Project Manager Elyse Taylor Liburd. “I was really blown away by the caliber of the productions and the uniqueness of the storytelling. Every year that I think we can’t top the last, it just keeps on getting better.”
The projects were selected based on their commitment to diverse representation in their film and/or in production, the potential impact of the film on local talent and economy; influence of funding on the project and/or career of the applicant, and the potential impact of the film on external markets by way of bringing Portland’s vitality to the big screen.
Congratulations to all of the recipients of the 2024 Post Production Grant:
Trash Baby-
Trash Baby is a coming-of-age drama that follows 12-year-old Stevie as she navigates growing up, getting out, and the art of finding beauty in the ugliest of places.
The film takes a look at poverty in America through the lens of one of the most dismissed communities in the country. “We’re telling a story that is rarely given the attention it deserves and shining a light on the beauty of a world often left socially unclaimed.” says Jacy Mairs, Director of Trash Baby.
Directing narrative features has been a dream of Oregonian Jacy Mairs for as long as she can remember. She has a long history of working as a part of production in the commercial world, but Trash Baby will be her directorial debut.
A Simple Machine –
Nick Allander is a creative soul - a thoughtful, but indecisive, young man with an accounting job, a serious relationship, and a problem... he’s drowning in debt. Coming out of the pandemic, he and his partner, Marie, are looking to take the next step in their relationship, but when Nick’s mother, a hoarder in poor health, suddenly passes, he snaps, abandoning his career, leaving his apartment, and selling all his possessions to secretly squat in the garage of her foreclosed home.
“This is my first feature production as a producer, however I have worked on multiple productions in other roles over the years. I have been an advocate for filming in Oregon and am passionate about both telling Oregon stories and bringing projects to Oregon. A Simple Machine will hopefully be the first of many for me,” says Producer Michelle Damis.
5 Weeks in Silverton-
Nothing goes as planned when a group of trans and queer filmmakers set out to document the last 5 weeks of Stu Rasmussen's life. The heartbreaking story of a trans teen at the beginning of her life and a trans elder at the end of theirs in smalltown Silverton, Oregon, and the wild things that happen when a crew of trans filmmakers show up for 5 weeks to ask big questions on gender, freedom, life, and death.
The film is being directed by both L Morgan Lee and Andrew Russell. Tony Award® nominee L Morgan Lee is an American actress, director and writer. She made history as the first openly transgender actor to receive a Tony Award® nomination for her standout work in A Strange Loop. Andrew Russell is a theatre and film director with a focus on real humans who have made a change in the world in which they live.
This is An Awesome Rock Show-
In the summer of 2023, a group of adults with disabilities set out with a dream: to perform an epic rock concert at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. THIS IS AN AWESOME ROCK SHOW is a feature-length documentary film about their incredible journey, from their first day of rehearsal all the way to the stage at Revolution Hall, where they performed “Stop Making Sense,” their interpretation of the Talking Heads classic album.
Filmed over three months with candid, behind-the-scenes footage, you will get to know the cast and who they are – not just people with disabilities, but artists with talents who are daring to do something they’ve never done before. The film follows JJ Ross, a man with down syndrome, who is the show’s lead choreographer, as he practices and teaches the dance moves. You’ll also meet the rest of the cast, who are all part of the Portland nonprofit organization called PHAME, from the dance ensemble to the vocalists to the IPAD musicians. The cast does not want to inspire you. They want to rock you.
A feature documentary film witnessing the lives and experiences of trans people during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an airborne pandemic when separation, isolation, and self-sufficiency became the punishing norm, many trans people faced the COVID-19 era differently. G. Chesler’s new documentary feature presents eight portraits of trans, postgender, and genderqueer people sharing their experiences of cultivating, sustaining, and joining communities in this pandemic. Interlacing documentary portraits are reenactments with real folks reliving common COVID memories. G. Chesler’s film Connection | Isolation highlights how COVID-19 and Long COVID have impacted trans people disproportionately. This is not a new story for a community that faces violent loss, less access to health care, criminalization, and whose freedoms are legislatively restricted by transphobes forcefully. But it is one that must be heard and understood.
“This film is intended for impact and meant to foster dialogue,” says G. With a film about an unforgettable time in which we can all relate to during the pandemic, the cast and crew have high hopes for international distribution. “Community-based screenings around the US will allow me to highlight the artistry of the Portland filmmakers who are my collaborators,” says G.
2023 Post-Production Grant Recipients
The Portland Film Office, in partnership with Travel Portland, has announced the recipients of its 2023 Portland Post-Production Grant Program. Selected from a pool of 32 applicants, four local filmmakers will receive $7,500 each for their respective projects.
The grant program is intended to support the professional development of local Portland filmmakers by providing funds for such activities as sound, picture editing, color matching, color grading, closed caption, tech specs for distributors, and music clearances using local post-production houses.
Grants encourage the completion of a local feature-length film and position local producers to build toward larger, more resourced productions. Past recipients of the Post-Production Grant have included “Mother of Color,” which premiered in the Portland area and is circulating the film festival docket with much success; and “Dearest Eva,” premiered at OMSI in August of 2022.
Elyse Taylor, manager of the Film Office, said, “I am blown away by the vast amounts of talent that were in these grant applications. The work that is coming out of Portland is vibrant, relevant, and diverse. If these are our future filmmakers, than the future looks bright!”
The selected projects are:
Lilly
Sarah Johnston Awa’xe, Producer
Lilly is a surreal, dramatic genre film about a guilt-ridden woman who is haunted by the ghost of her daughter and plunges into madness through the course of a drug fueled fever dream. The film dissects concepts of parentification, isolation, grief, and resilience through a class-conscious lens. This is the first feature film created by producer Sarah Johnston and writer/director Martin Melnick who live and work in Portland, Oregon.
Lilly
Outdoor School
Outdoor School
Ime Etuk, Director
The film tells the story of Vin Shambry, a Black 12-year-old boy in Portland, Oregon. Homeless, Vin sleeps under a tree in the park with his mother and baby sister, daily palling around with his school-yard friend, the daughter of a famous shoe designer. Vin’s 6th-grade class embarks on an educational coming-of-age adventure known as Outdoor School. Reluctant to leave his family, Vin goes on the trip, where his worldview is transformed by nature and caring adults. For the first time, he learns what it means to be a kid. He faces the dilemma of sacrificing his only pair of sneakers, his prized Deon Sanders Nikes, to help his team win in tug of war. Ultimately, Vin navigates the tension between his family life and the great outdoors while masking his poverty at all costs to protect himself and the people he loves.
Ime is a Portland native who is deeply invested in developing and showcasing local talent. This is his second feature film as a director.
Mai American
Mai American
Kevin Truong, director
Kevin Truong is a Sundance-supported artist whose work spans photography, journalism and filmmaking. As a filmmaker, he has received fellowships from both the Center for Asian American Media and BAVC Media, and his first feature-length film, Mai American, has received support and funding from the Sundance Institute, MacArthur Foundation, A-Doc, California Film Institute, SFFilm, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Haverford College, and the Portland Events and Film Office. As a journalist, Kevin has written stories for NBC News and Motherboard Tech by VICE and has worked as a producer with Student Reporting Labs at the PBS NewsHour, where he recently helped produce and film a series of short documentaries on misinformation. Mai American is Kevin's first feature length documentary film and tells the story of his mother, Tot Mai, a 70-year-old Vietnamese American refugee living in Oregon who writes down the story of her life, which is deeply shaped by the War in Vietnam. As she shares with him what she has written for the first time, they begin separate but parallel journeys confronting the traumas of their past and the emotional divide in their present.
Nora
Nora
Anna Campbell, Director
Nora moves back home to suburbia, giving up on her dream of being a musician to focus on her child. But does her dream give up on her?
First time feature filmmaker and Portland native Anna Campbell brings a joyful, unflinching look at modern motherhood clashing with the artistic notion of having it all. This uniquely structured film with a completely original soundtrack by Noah Harmon (Airborn Toxic Event) uses the emotional bombshell that music provides in a way that appeals to the MTV generation and beyond. Combining intimate independent filmmaking with dramatic flights of fantasy in the form of music videos, NORA takes a unique approach to indie filmmaking. Shot almost entirely in Portland during the pandemic, NORA represents a return home for the filmmaker and the audience, celebrating the big dream and the place called home